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Boston Security Breaches Exposed

NBC Boston Investigators takes a closer look at points in Boston that are vulnerable to attacks by looking into the underground world.

(Published Monday, May 22, 2017)

What some would see as cool video, safety experts see as a huge hole in Boston's security.

The concern comes less than a year after Boston Regional Intelligence Center issued a warning about soft targets.

The participants in these videos are young, daring urban explorers roaming the forbidden zones of Boston. These urban explorer made their way on the field at Fenway Park after hours. They dangle from hotel rooftop and walk the tunnels of the MBTA.

Retired Massachusetts State Trooper and security expert Todd McGhee watched the videos the urban explorers publicly posted online and said they are major breaches of security.

“This is really a major concern seeing how easy they gained this kind of access,” McGhee said.

He explained that someone having that type of access to MBTA property makes the transit system vulnerable.

“Something catastrophic as a train derailment could happen. Taking some kind of blunt device, set it on one of the rains, trains coming through 60-70 miles an hour, hits that in a tube it’s going to derail,” said McGhee.

The videos the urban explorers posted of Fenway Park also show a hole in security and could have major consequences, according to McGhee.

“The night before a game, it’s well known that developing an improvised explosive device is just a google search, a few household items. We can look back at what the Tsarnaev brothers did at the Boston Marathon bombings-pressure cookers, shrapnel in the form of nails and bolts and they purchased the pressure cooker form Macys. Put it in a backpack, now you have your improvised explosive device. So something like that could easily have been placed here,” McGhee said.

In a statement to the NBC Boston Investigators, Fenway Park officials said, “The Red Sox are aware of a late night trespassing incident that took place in March. The issue was turned over to the Boston Police Department and is still under investigation. The Red Sox take matters of security very seriously and have a comprehensive set of security procedures in place. We are constantly working to improve those systems to prevent an incident of this nature.”

The MBTA would not respond to our questions about security, but eventually charged the explorers with trespassing.

The urban explorers easily got to the rooftop of a downtown hotel directly across from the Prudential Tower and accessed the top floor, taking the stairs up to the rooftop. They ignored a sign that read “No Trespassing, Authorized Personnel Only, Police Take Notice”.

McGhee says when it comes to security guards, companies are often paying minimum wage and going for the lowest bid.